Finger Eleven - Paralyzer Them VS. You VS. Me Music
by Finger Eleven - Paralyzer

About this Music

The members of Finger Eleven collectively wrote / recorded over one hundred songs during the process of creating Them vs. You vs. Me.. The influences are of varying styles from rock to country to dance to funk to old 60's songs. Many of them were written by exchanging files over the Internet wherein one person would track a home recording, send it off, and then some one else would build on it and send it on down the line. Many of the sounds on the record were recorded during the demo process in locations as diverse as a castle, a lodge in Northern Canada and their homes. Beyond the obvious guitars and drums one would expect to hear on a Finger Eleven album, Them vs. You vs. Me features assorted keyboards, xylophones, a lap steel, violin, banjo, and other assorted instruments added in to the mix.

Finger Eleven's career shifted suddenly and significantly when their 2003 emo-hit "One Thing" turned the band's career on its axis. At that point, they went from being known as 'the boys from Burlington who used to call themselves the Rainbow Butt Monkeys' to a group whose anthemic slow rock song went Platinum in Canada and Gold in America. So how does a band respond after its widespread fame is the result of just one song? In the case of Them Vs. You Vs. Me, Finger Eleven have consciously stayed away from anything remotely resembling their past and put the focus on the straight-ahead alt-rock formula that they've consistently excelled at. There are certain old-school rock influences that bleed clearly through their music, from Rush-isms in the form of frenetic time changes ("Sense of a Spark") to "Talking to the Walls" and "Lost My Way" which evoke Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. Frontman Scott Anderson's voice is impressive throughout, but when he sings ballads, especially "Window Song" and "Easy Life," something enables him to appeal to a whole different audience than traditional alt-rock fans. There is no 'one thing' on this disc that will allow them to reach the heights of their self-titled CD, just a consistency that will provide longtime fans reason to appreciate the band even more. --Denise Sheppard